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lished simultaneously by the New York Times and the London Times, but the difference of five hours enabled the correspondents of the New York Sun and World to cable the report to their respective papers in time for publication at the same hour in America as in the New York Times. Anticipating this course, the New York Times had taken the precaution to publish the report in pamphlet or "book" form some hours before newspaper publication, and to copyright this as a book. When an injunction was asked in the U. S. Circuit Court from Judge Hand, that judge granted the injunction, but on the required production of the contract in court, dissolved his injunction on the ground that the contract between Peary and the New York Times gave to the Times only the right to news publication and specifically reserved to Peary magazine and book rights. He inferred thus that the Times had no right to copyright the news report as a book, and was not the agent of the author for that purpose. To the contrary, Opposing Judge Grosscup in Chicago, in an exactly similar case decisions against the Chicago Inter-Ocean and other Chicago papers, and with the contract before him, maintained the copyright by the Times. The two contradictory decisions have not so far been adjudicated in the higher courts. It will be observed that the question is not strictly one of copyright, but of contract, and that it is not denied that the news report, in the literary form given it by the author, was a proper subject of copyright, though the news of the discovery of the North Pole might not be copyrightable. Judge Hand perhaps erred in assuming that there could be separate copyright for news, magazine, or book publication, overlooking the fact that Peary had conferred on the Times authority to protect the report sent to it by cable, while reserving to himself rights

Renewal rights

Assigments

in magazine or book publication of his material, whether in the same or different form.

In the renewal of copyright, the new American code follows the previous law in differentiating the persons entitled to renew the copyright. It provides (sec. 23) that in the case of a posthumous composite or corporate work originally copyrighted by the proprietor thereof or a work made for hire, the proprietor of such copyright shall be entitled to a renewal; but in other cases, including a separately registered contribution by an individual to a composite work, the author or the widow, widower or children, or, if such be not living, the author's executors or next of kin shall be entitled to a renewal. This means that there can be no renewal by an assignee proprietor, and that in the absence of natural heirs of a personal author, no person is entitled to a renewal of his copyright. The new law has been specifically construed to this effect by the Attorney-General in his opinion of February 3, 1910. It should be noted that the word "administrators," included in the provision as to original application (sec. 8), is omitted from the provision as to renewal (sec. 23) including renewal of existing copyrights (sec. 24), indicating that while an author may make bequest of copyright for the renewal term, which right may then be claimed by his executor, the right to renew lapses when he makes no will and has no next of kin to inherit the right of renewal.

66

Specific provision as to the method and record of the transfer of copyrights by assignments are contained in the following provisions of the code of 1909: '(Sec. 42.) That copyright secured under this or previous Acts of the United States may be assigned, granted, or mortgaged by an instrument in writing signed by the proprietor of the copyright, or may be bequeathed by will.

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(Sec. 43.) That every assignment of copyright executed in a foreign country shall be acknowledged by the assignor before a consular officer or secretary of legation of the United States authorized by law to administer oaths or perform notarial acts. The certificate of such acknowledgment under the hand and official seal of such consular officer or secretary of legation shall be prima facie evidence of the execution of the instrument.

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(Sec. 44.) That every assignment of copyright Assignment shall be recorded in the copyright office within three record calendar months after its execution in the United States or within six calendar months after its execution without the limits of the United States, in default of which it shall be void as against any subsequent purchaser or mortgagee for a valuable consideration, without notice, whose assignment has been duly recorded.

"(Sec. 45.) That the register of copyrights shall, upon payment of the prescribed fee, record such assignment, and shall return it to the sender with a certificate of record attached under seal of the copyright office, and upon the payment of the fee prescribed by this Act he shall furnish to any person requesting the same a certified copy thereof under the said seal. "(Sec. 46). That when an assignment of the copy- Substitution right in a specified book or other work has been recorded the assignee may substitute his name for that of the assignor in the statutory notice of copyright prescribed by this Act."

It should be noted that this last provision, authorizing the substitution of a name, is applicable only to the general copyright in a work, and not to a divided right; otherwise there would seem to be more than one copyright in the same work. The Copyright Office will, however, record assignments of specific

of name

Witnesses

66 Outrights"

or divided rights without reference to this power of substitution. Further assignment from one assignee to another is permissible to any extent, and in cases of repeated assignment of a general copyright there may be further substitution of names.

There is no specific requirement as to the witnessing of assignments, which would therefore follow the usual principles of law. This was, however, an important question in England, and under the early English statute the courts held that assignments must be in writing, attested by two witnesses; the later statute of Victoria modified the language, and the new English code requires assignment in writing signed by the owner or his authorized agent, without specifying witnesses. But assignment of common-law rights (as in an unpublished manuscript) may doubtless be by word of mouth.

Where an author sells his entire rights "outright," and renewal he cannot transfer the right to take out renewal, but he may directly or by inference bind himself to apply for such renewal in the interest of the new proprietor. Under such a contract, this proprietor could probably require him by equity proceedings to take this step. Such a contract, however, would not bar the author from his right to renewal under the copyright law and through the Copyright Office, although it is possible that the courts might enjoin an author from renewal or assignment of a renewed copyright in the interest of another than the original assignee. It should be noted that in the case of composite, corporate or like impersonal works, copyrighted under the new code, renewal is not restricted to the original proprietor, though by analogy this should be the practice; but that in the case of renewal of copyrights existing before July 1, 1909, and in extension of the present renewal terms, the use of the phrase "such proprietor," referring

back to "the original proprietor," does make such

limitation.

Where the copyright proprietor of record is not the Proof of author, the courts may require him to prove his proprietorship rights, in default of which the copyright certificate will be adjudged null and void, as was done in 1909 by the Circuit Court of Appeals both in Bosselman v. Richardson, where a son copyrighted paintings by his father and failed to prove that they had not before been published, and in Saake v. Lederer, where the court canceled the copyright of the play "Old Heidelberg" because Lederer had obtained from the German author only a license to perform and not a right to copyright.

As to copyright by others than citizens of the coun- Foreign try, the law of 1909 provides (sec. 8) "that the copy- citizens right secured by this Act shall extend to the work of

an author or proprietor who is a citizen or subject of a foreign state or nation, only:

“(a) When an alien author or proprietor shall be domiciled within the United States at the time of the first publication of his work; or

"(b) When the foreign state or nation of which such author or proprietor is a citizen or subject grants, either by treaty, convention, agreement, or law, to citizens of the United States the benefit of copyright on substantially the same basis as to its own citizens, or copyright protection substantially equal to the protection secured to such foreign author under this Act, or by treaty; or when such foreign state or nation is a party to an international agreement which provides for reciprocity in the granting of copyright, by the terms of which agreement the United States may, at its pleasure, become a party thereto.

"The existence of the reciprocal conditions aforesaid shall be determined by the President of the

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